The Veteran was granted an earlier effective date of August 9, 1982, for the award of SMC based on loss of use of the bilateral lower extremities and February 11, 1998, for SMC based on aid and attendance criteria being met prior to June 19, 2006.
The deciding factor: The evidence is at least evenly balanced as concerning whether his service-connected lower extremity disabilities resulted in functional loss of use of both lower legs by August 9, 1982. The Veteran's informal claim for SMC was received on February 11, 1998, and the evidence supports an earlier effective date.
- Claimed conditions
- Not specified in this decision
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- February 4, 2025
- Citation
- A25009981
Veterans Law Judge
Judge attribution: 2025 complete; earlier years partial.
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation A25009981.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
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